‘SMART’ NEIGHBOURS DECIDE ON THE SAME GOAL

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‘SMART’ NEIGHBOURS DECIDE ON THE SAME GOAL

The world of sport unwittingly created a business force to be reckoned with when it brought together Graham Jones and Stewart Ellis.

Now fronting the Sutton Coldfield branch of Smart Cartridge, the pair got chatting during a meeting between Stewart’s cricket club and Graham’s junior football team in Tamworth.

There, they discovered they were not only like-minded in a business sense but they had been neighbours for two years without even knowing of each others sporting activities!

Shortly afterwards they decided to go into business together and approached Smart Cartridge with a view to opening a store in Boldmere Road, Sutton Coldfield.

The store opened in November 2005 and, to date, more than 25,000 cartridges have been recycled and re-used by the dedicated duo.

Graham explained: “We initially considered joining a larger organisation but felt we would get greater satisfaction in choosing a smaller empire, whilst retaining a business that has proven to be popular, dependable with consistent demand and can grow with our personality.

“We definitely now share a common awareness of our respective sports and different skills and this has carried on in our working relationship. We both want the same goal for the business and recognise that our different personality and skills is a benefit that can only help us achieve this.

In addition to the remanufacturing of cartridges, Stewart and Graham soon learned that businesses wanted a one-stop-shop for printer consumables and office stationery.

The pair therefore decided to focus on developing their business to business stationery supplies and now offer a complete service. This includes offering more than 20,000 items of office stationery and furniture with free same day delivery.

Businesses can order with ease and choice – either by telephone, email, fax or on-line, where they can manage their own account.

The environmentally friendly nature of the business is also something close to their hearts

Smart Cartridge has long been aware of the impact that throwing away empty cartridges has on the environment.

Stewart explained: “More than 30 million inkjet cartridges are dumped each year in the UK alone, which is shocking when you consider the plastic used in a typical cartridge is made of engineering grade polymers that take at least 1000 years to decompose.”

Smart Cartridge can also help businesses and domestic clients deal with changes to the Landfill Directive laws, which came into force last October. The legislation requires non-hazardous waste to undergo some form of treatment before being landfilled, should – ultimately – help combat the environmental issues surrounding landfill sites.

Stewart added: “We’re delighted to be able to help people through the introduction of these new regulations, which tie-in nicely with our objective to reduce the impact of waste on landfill.

“This is something that businesses should be taking very seriously as it means the onus is on them to make sure their waste is dealt in the proper environmental manner or they will be fined as per the new legislation.

“Smart Cartridge can help companies fulfil their obligations by recycling and refilling their printer cartridges. We proactively encourage local home users, businesses, schools, offices, clubs, the healthcare sector and other organisations to recycle and re-use their empty cartridges. We also offer branded recycling bins, which organisations throughout the country can use to collect empty cartridges. The cartridges are remanufactured and returned the same day, during which time they have been fully cleaned, remanufactured and tested to guarantee 100% printing quality – all at no extra charge. If you do not wish to remanufacture your empty cartridges, we can simply take your empties off your hands!” If cartridges can not be remanufactured or they fail the stringent tests then they also offer a comprehensive range of original and compatible cartridges.
One of Stewart and Graham’s many satisfied customers is Ray Woods, marketing fund raising officer with The League of Friends of The John Taylor Hospice, in Sutton Coldfield.

Ray Woods said: “Graham and Stewart of Smart Cartridge have been great to work with. They undertake our collections of empty cartridges from companies and other organisations, free of charge and still pay us a contribution for every cartridge. If they remanufacture the cartridge and return it for that customer they will double their contribution.

“They also allow their premises in Boldmere Road to be used as a collection point for unwanted mobile phones, which has proved to be a great source of revenue for the Hospice”.

Maxine Swaffield of Connaught Communications, a telecommunications and data networking specialist based in Sutton Coldfield, said: “As part of a company cost cutting exercise, we started researching different suppliers of ink and toner cartridges about 18 months ago and chose to use Smart Cartridge based on the monetary savings we could make.”

She added: “Graham and Stewart were helpful from the start and always offered to collect our empties for us, refill them and bring them back – usually within 24 hours, which was great. As we developed a relationship with them, we started asking advice on our various printers and they always suggested what was best for us, regardless of whether there was any business in it for them or not. In fact, on several occasions they have come out and serviced our printers for us completely free of charge. We now use them for all our office stationery, printers and consumables. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending Smart Cartridge, based on their very competitive prices and great customer service. “

Smart Cartridge can be contacted on 0121 354 2173 or email suttoncoldfield @ smart-cartridge.com